Meyers Manx reborn as EV

Bruce Meyers’s iconic Meyers Manx dune buggy has been reinvented for the new millennium, with the ‘Meyers Manx 2.0’ to feature a fully electric drivetrain, along with regenerative braking, electric power steering and other modern features.

Unveiled ahead of Monterey Car Week in August, the Meyers Manx 2.0 is stylistically authentic to the original Manx created by Bruce Meyers in 1964, but instead of a fibreglass body on a shortened VW Beetle floorpan, the new version features a one-piece monocoque body made from aluminium.

The styling makeover is the work of Freeman Thomas, CEO of Meyers Manx LLC since 2020 and a designer who’s worked for Ford, Porsche, Chrysler and Volkswagen in the past. Arguably Thomas’s best-known design was the ‘Concept 1’ for VW, which evolved into the New Beetle from 1998.

Full details on the EV drivetrain are yet to be confirmed, but it’s believed the Meyers Manx 2.0 will be powered by a pair of compact electric motors on the rear axle, producing up to 202hp and 240lb/ft (150kW and 325Nm), and enabling the lightweight (680kg to 750kg, depending on battery option) roadster to reach 100km/h from standstill in under 5.0 seconds.

The motors will be fuelled by a choice of 20kWh or 40kWh lithium-ion batteries, for a range of around 150 miles or 300 miles (240km or 480km), respectively. Recharge times are not listed, but a 6kW charger is said to be standard, with 60kW fast charging available as an option.

The modernisation of the drivetrain carries through to other components, like electrically-assisted power steering, an electric handbrake and disc brakes on all four wheels, with the rear discs adding a regenerative function to feed the batteries.

Lighting appears to be LED and there’s a backlit, modernised instrument pod that combines an analogue-look speedo with a satnav screen in the centre. The rest of the cabin is spartan in terms of features, with cloth-trimmed seats and a leather-wrapped steering wheel the only noticeable elements in images released so far.

Customer deliveries aren’t expected until 2024, but prior to that, 50 pre-production examples of the Manx 2.0 will be made available to beta testers in the US. Those testers will be required to cover a pre-determined amount of kilometres over a 12-month period and share their findings on the vehicle’s performance and characteristics with Meyers Manx LLC on a regular basis. Applications to be part of the beta testing program in the US opened in August, with those selected likely to receive their pre-production vehicles sometime in early 2023.

Pricing for the Meyers Manx 2.0 is unknown, as is whether the electric model will replace the combustion-engined version that’s currently in production.